Playwrights
The playwrights of Women+ on the Edge of Democracy are finalists and winners of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, brought together through a shared commission at a defining moment in American civic life.
Each writer was invited to create a 10-minute play or monologue in response to the project’s central questions:
What is the current state of democracy in America?
What can history, global context, or futurism offer us in this pivotal moment?
Meet the playwrights contributing new works to Women+ on the Edge of Democracy.
Jane Anderson
Leslie Avyazian
Gupreet Kaur Bhatti
Moira Buffini
Lucy Caldwell
Bridget Carpenter
Paula Cizmar
Migdalia Cruz
Erika Dickerson-Despenza
Elizabeth Diggs
Hannah Doran
Stella Feehily
Lauren M. Gunderson
Zinnie Harris
Justice Hehir
Beth Henley
Elizabeth Kuti
Haruna Lee
Kimber Lee
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Lisa Loomer
Sarah Mantell
Deb Margolin
Ellen McLaughlin
Susan Miller
Rona Munro
Lynn Nottage
Ife Olujobi
Dael Orlandersmith
a.k. payne
Heather Raffo
Sarah Ruhl
Heidi Schreck
Jenny Schwartz
Judith Thompson
Else Went
Dramaturgs
The dramaturgs of Women+ on the Edge of Democracy serve as creative partners to the playwrights and project team, offering literary support, script feedback, and insight into how the plays come together as a larger collection.
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![A Black woman with short curly dark hair looks at the camera, smiling lightly. She wears a dark top and there is a dark background with blurred blue light.]()
Martine Green-Rogers
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![A smiling woman with short, tousled brown hair and glasses wearing a denim jacket, resting her chin on her hand against a dark background.]()
Sarah Mantell
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![A woman with long, straight dark hair stands in 3/4 profile and looks at the camera with a light smile. She wears large dangling gold earrings, a green and cream floral top, and an off-white leather jacket. She stands against a stone building.]()
Amrita Ramanan
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![A woman with long wavy dark hair and dark-rimmed glasses smiles at the camera. She wears a dark top open at the neck. Blurred, light-filled folliage and grass in the background.]()
Zeina Salame
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![A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, glasses, and a light-colored top, smiling in front of a background with abstract artwork and text.]()
Jenny Worton
“Susan believed that society urgently needed more influence from talented women, and she encouraged many women to excel.”